The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-09-28

slide, being partially broken by the rrees,
tore over It, closed the stout slab-door,
and passed on down with roar. Then
followed darkness and silence.
All their tools were IN the tunnels;
they had nothing whercwith to effect an
escape, even were escape possible. For
tunately the fire had gone out, so there
was no smoke to add to their torture.
But hidden thus from all the world, sud-
denly shut away from all its hopes,
hatreds and fears, those two were to
await, together, the inevitable.
For a time the suddenncss OF the
catastrophe stunned both i'll silence. 1t
was broken at length by the old man
Trail, whose gruff tones were hardly
recognizable in this softencd whisper:
"Uncle Jimmy, I'm mighty glad the
bows is both SAFE"
Tim with you thar, old man. Uncle
Jimmy replied, in voice equally sub
ducd.
The minutes, as they passed. might
have been years, so faint and far away
seemed their dispute over the lead.
"Tm sorry, old man. We mought "a
settled this here business 'twixt me and
you long go; but now, 1 reckon it's
goin' fur to settle US, and Uncle Jimmy's
voice gave faltering indications of break
ing down.
"Brace up, Uncle Jimmy The boys
is both safe, and me and you was a-gittin'
old, and couldn't in natur' a helt on
much longer. And arter all, Uncle
Jimmy, this here aint plum playout !;
it's jest slip in the paystreak, and we'll
strike it agin 'acrost the range"
The old mans voice was wonderfully
clear, as he paused and seated himself
composedly on the bunk. Uncle Jimmy
groped his way to him, and knceling,
rested his head and shoulders on the
blankets. Then the hands of those an
cient enemies met, and clung in a firm
locked clasp, rcassuring ca to each as
they waited for the ED.
To Jimmy, visit to the camp was
welcome break in the monotony of life on
Silver Mountain, and his step was ac-
cordingly light as he prodded the jack
down the drifted trail with the pointed
end of the scrub oak stick that served him
alike for staff and goad.
As he progressed downward, frosty
clouds passed between him and the sun,
giving the air a sudden chill as their
Shadows darkened the sparkling surface
of the snow. The summit was lost to
view, and, driven by the wind, snow be-
gan to fly, coming partly from the clouds
and partly from the drifts above. Jimmy,
however, was used to these mountain
"squalls," and knew that, as long as the
nimble-footed jack could keep the trail,
be was safe to follow.
A mile or less from the cabin the trail
made an abrupt bend around granite
crag. Firm -bedded in the mountain,
this thrust its tapering pinnacle to the
tops of the surrounding pines: Where
the trail hugged its base there had been
a "catch" Of soft sand conglomerate
which, worn away by action of frost and
air, had gradually dropped out and been
washed down the slope, leaving shelv-
ing recess.
Just as Jimmy reached this recess he
encounteged Sam Trail, coming upward.
The two inimical jacks, brought sud-
denly face to face, alike laid long ears
back and breathed forth defiance in
trumpet notes that woke the echoes of
the mountain defiles. Behind each pug
nacious little beast his equally pugnacious
driver halted squarely in the middle OF
the narrow trail.
"Turn out!" cried Sam Trail, in such a
tone that Jimmy would have shot both
lacks head-irst down the slope rather
than have complied. "Turn out, and
let nv jack hug the rock"
"Turn out yo'self!" retorted Jimmy.
"My jacks got as good right to the in
side as yourn. Everybody turns to the
right, and I'm a-goin' to-"
1.-THE pack III tip my jack over the
slo, C eff take the outside, " replied Sam,
ssand aint a-goin' to do it."
Both boys and beasts were by this
time half-blinded by the snow, which
was being sucked around the crag and
whirlcd in their faces by the rising wind.
Their passions kept pace with its fury.
Each jack stood ready to rush open
each driver got firme- grasp
on his oak stick and made forward
stride.
Just then, half broken by the wind,
came the sound of muffled thunder from
the direction of the shanties. Following
it, from Immediately above them, came a
noise that caused the uplifted
sticks to be held in air.
The snow-caps above had given way,
and gathering momentum with lncreas-
ing bulk and velocity. the slide, to which
the one at the cabin was but plaything,
came tearing down, carrying along the
granite boulders scattered in its path.
Before its rush, the giant pines, with sap
hard frozen, snapped like reeds, each
making sharp report above the duller
rumble of the mass.
Counted by the beating of their hearts,
it was long before it struck the crag.
Huge as was this, it trembled; but moth
ing less than an earthquake could have
that mighty cone from its i'm
bcddcd base, and the slide broke over it
and pasted on.
Covering in the recess, the boys were
covered with snow as the great avalanche
thundered past, swept the pines from the
slop, below, and shot up on the opposite
side of the gulch, where at last it settled
with sound and shock that seemed to
shake the mountain.
go Sam nv ma and yournn cried